Warp guide bar operating mechanism



Jan. 13, 1953 E. BELLINI 25,023

WARP GUIDE BAR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 22, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET l a j 6 E FIE- liA INVENTOR:

E ll BY z/zgene Be an,

Jan. 13, 1953 E. BELLINI WARP GUIDE BAR OPERATING MECHANISM 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 22, 1951 FIG: Z1-

INVENTOR:

Ell/198128 ,Bellznz, BY

A7TORNEY.

Patented Jan. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WARP GUIDE BAR OPERATING MECHANISM Eugene Bellini, Jackson, Ala.

Application September 22, 1951, Serial No. 247,855

Claims.

This invention relates to warp knitting machines and more particularly to the operating mechanism of the warp guide bars which are moved longitudinally to and fro and rocked about parallel axes to have the warp guides, carried by these bars, lay the threads around the knitting needles.

In accordance with the prior art arrangement, the said warp guide bars are positively operated in one longitudinal direction by a pattern wheel or pattern links and are spring operated in the other direction. Heretofore, the tension springs utilized for this purpose have been arranged side by side along the connecting rod, between the pattern devices and the guide bars. This has resulted in more or less of a twisting force being exerted on the guide bars and nonuniform application of the spring force, with consequent detrimental manifestations in the loop formation of the fabric knitted by the machine.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel warp guide bar operating device which overcomes the indicated and other detrimental fea-, tures of the similar prior art devices.

Another object is to provide such a device which has certain structural and functional features of advantage over the similar devices of the prior art.

Another object is to provide such a device having means whereby the varying tension of the spring, as it moves the guide bar, may be automatically compensated for, or regulated, so as to provide uniformly tensioned operation of the guide bar and constant movement thereof in both directions as determined by the cam elements of the pattern means.

' .It is also an object to provide such a device having a spring arranged so that the tensional force exerted thereby acts longitudinally and centrally of the axis of the yarn guide bar and thus avoids any twisting action on the latter during its movement in either direction.

, A further object is to provide such a device having a spring connection for effecting movement of the guide arm which includes a bell crank, one arm of which is moved by a pattern wheel while the other arm is connected to a spring actuated mechanism having lever means which regulate the transmission of the force of the spring to the guide bar in such manner as to automatically bring about the exertion of an equal or constant axial spring force on the guide bar in any of its operating positions.

With these and other objects in view, which will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the practical and illustrative embodiments of my improvements shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention comprises the novel warp guide bar operating device, elements, features of construction and arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship, as more particularly defined .by the hereunto appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of one form of warp guide bar operating device embodying my invention with certain portions thereof illustrated in section, the section being taken substantially along the line indicated by the arrows |-l in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the mechanism or device illustrated in Figure 1.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line indicated by the arrows 2 2 in Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a modified form of my novel warp guide bar operating device.

It will be helpful to a clear understanding of my invention to first briefly consider some of the more important aspects and features tnereoi, so that these may be kept in mind during the subsequent reading or the detailed description of the practical and illustrative embodiments of my novel warp guide bar operating device shown in the accompanying drawings. Accordingly, it is pointed out that, during a warp knitting cycle, it is "essential that the guide bars which eifect lapping movement to and no of the yarn guide elements are operated with a constant spring force acting on the guide bars in their movement in either direction against the pattern Wheel. The force exerted by the spring during movement of the guide bar should, therefore, be uniform and remain substantially constant for all operating positions of the guide bar. lhe minimum value of this spring force is determined by the acceleration it must give to the bar, the force necessary to overcome frictional resistance to the movement of the bar and the force needed for a uniform or constant warp tension. The value of the spring force should be as near to this minimum value as possible to avoid unnecessary stresses and wear in the mechanism.

Furthermore, the spring loading mechanism should provide a force which is substantially constant over the entire range of travel of the guide bar and should reach its maximum value when the guide bar is at or near its mean. position and; its minimum value when the guide bar is at or near its limit of travel. a

To attain this result the spring force of my novel mechanism is transmitted to the guide bar by means of a lever arm, which is connected to the guide bar with a flexible cable. The spring which exerts a longitudinal force on the guide bar is attached to the lever arm by means of a variable connection. The latter is controlled by the pattern wheel and thus regulates the connection to modify the action of the spring on the lever arm in order to transmit constant spring force to the guide bar in any of its positions irrespective of the tension of the spring proper.

In the application of the spring force to the guide bar, the cable through which this connection is made extends centrally of the axis of the push rod. In this manner the loading action of the spring on the guide bar is at all times on the central axis of the push rod and thus cannot produce a twisting effect on the guide bar.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts in all the figures, I indicates a portion of the frame of the warp knitting machine, 2 indicates one of the guide bars and 3 a portion of a pattern wheel which is supported on the frame I and is rotatively mounted thereon for operation of the guide bar 2. A roller 4 at the outer end of the tappet 5, which has a square cross section, is adapted to contact the perimeter of the pattern wheel 3 and reciprocate in a suitable bearing in the frame I for movement of the hollow push rod '6. For this purpose a knuckle I is adjustably mounted in the end of the tappet 5 for self-aligning engagement into the seat 6 in one end of the push rod 6. A second knuckle I similarly engages into a seat 6* at the other end of the push rod 6. This second knuckle is adjustably mounted in the guide bar bracket 8 to complete the movement transmitting connection between the pattern wheel 3 and the guide bar 2.

The knuckle l is provided with the cable pin III, which projects into the hollow center of the knuckle 7 and has a hole therethrough in alignment with the hollow center of the push rod '6. A flexible metal cable 9 extends partially'through the push rod 6 and is suitably attached withone end thereof to the cable pin I and with the other endto the spring connecting lever II. The latter projects through an opening in the side of the push rod 6 so as to align the cable with the central axis of the push rod and its connection with the guide bar bracket 8.

The spring connecting lever I I is 'pivotally mounted on a bracket I which forms part of the frame I of the knitting machine, for swinging movement thereon. Movement of the spring connecting lever II is effected by the spring I2 and the action of this spring on the spring connecting lever II is regulated by the bell crank I3 through its connecting link I4.

One end of the spring I2 is anchored to the frame I by means of the adjustable anchoring hook I2 and the other end of the spring is attached to the connecting pin I2 by means of the yoke I2. The connecting pin I2 is adapted to move in the slot II provided in the lever II and is connected with the bell crank I3 by means of the link I4. The bell crank is pivotally mounted on the frame I and its short arm is provided with a slot I3 for engagement by a pin carried by the tappet 5. Lateral movement of the tappet 5 thus causes the bell crank I3 to rock and in turn move the .pin I 2 in the slot II to shift the point of connection between the lever II and spring I2 to equalize the spring force transmitted by the lever II to the guide bar in accordance with the position of the guide bar as governed by the cams of the pattern wheel 3.

The proper initial tension of the spring I2 as i above pointed out, must exert a force which depends on the acceleration it must give to the guide bar in addition to the force required to overcome frictional resistance to the movement of the bar and the force that is needed for a uniform or constant warp tension. This initial tension is produced by the spring I2 on the adjustment of the anchoring hook I2 in the frame so as to provide this force at a mean position of the guide bar. The connection between the guide bar and the pattern wheel, which includes the roller 4, tappet 5, push rod Ii, knuckles 1 and I and bracket 8 is thus spring loaded and is positively moved in one direction against this spring force by the pattern wheel 3. The spring in turn is made to exert a constant force for the return movement of the guide bar in the opposite direction.

As the tappet 5 is moved to the right in Figure 1 to positively move the guide bar, as above pointed out, the bell crank I3 is rocked to shift the pin I2 closer to the fulcrum of the spring lever I I. Thus, while the spring I2 is being stretched by the movement of the push rod 6 through the cable 9, the point of connection between the spring and the spring lever is shifted to change its leverage and have the extended spring exert substantially the same tension on the push rod at the end of its movement to the right in Figure l as it did in its more contracted state at the beginning of this movement. Then as the push rod is moved by the spring for its return movement against the pattern wheel, the connection of the spring with the spring lever II is again shifted and its leverage changed, this time to increase its acting force in'proportion to the reduced tension as the spring contracts and exerts its decreasing force in moving the push rod 6 against the pattern wheel. In this way the transmitted force of the spring produces the same constant spring tension on the connection between the guide bar and the pattern wheel on the expansion of the spring during its cam operated movement that it exerts on this same connection on the contraction of the spring for the spring operated movement of the guide bar.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a modified form of the combined operating and spring loading mechanism in which reference numeral I5 indicates the frame of the machine and I6 the guide bar thereof. The frame has mounted thereon the pattern wheel I"! which operates against the roller I8 carried by the pattern lever I9. The latter is mounted to rock on the arm I5 of the frame I5 and carries at its lower end the pulley I 9' and at its upper end the pulley I9 The guide bar I6 is fastened to the guide bar bracket 20 which is provided with the knuckle 2I for connection with the hollow push rod 22 by its self-adjusting engagement into the seat 22 at one end thereof.

A cable 23 passes centrally through the entire push rod 22 and is attached to the knuckle 2'I by means of the cable pin 24. The cable also passes through the hollow knuckle 2I which connects the pattern lever I9 with the push rod 22. The knuckle 2I is seated in the end of the push rod 22 and is adjustably threaded into the end of the pattern lever 19. The cable 23, after passing through the knuckle 2W is guided over the pulleys l9 and I9 carried by the pattern lever I9 to the spring connecting lever 25 and is suitably anchored thereto. Lever 25 is pivoted on the frame of the machine at 25 and is provided with a slot 25 for the spring connecting pin 2'! to move back and forth therein. The latter is jointly attached to the spring connecting link 28 with which it is connected to the spring 29 and to the link-30 with which it is connected to the end of one arm of the bell crank 3|. The other arm of the bell crank is slotted for engagement by the pivot pin 32 of the roller 18. In this way the bell crank 3| is jointly operated with the pattern lever I9 by the pattern wheel I! and regulation of the spring force takes place by the movement of the connecting pin 21 in the slot 26 of the spring connecting lever 25 on the operation of the guide bar by the pattern lever.

When the pattern wheel l'l moves the pattern lever to the left in Fig. 3 to have its upper end positively move the guide bar 16 to the right, the bell crank 3| shifts the spring connecting pin toward the fulcrum of the lever 25 to shorten its leverage. The expansion of the spring and resulting increase of its spring force is thus corrected by a corresponding increase in th active force made necessary for the movement of the lever. In this way the actual force exerted on the push rod connection remains substantially constant during its positive movement by the pattern wheel.

During the spring operated return movement of the guide bar, the bell crank 3| moves to the right in Fig. 3 which causes the spring connecting pin to be moved outwardly in the slot 26 so as to reduce the force necessary to move the lever 25 by the spring 29 on the contraction thereof to thus keep the spring force on the guide bar again constant.

The novel improvements specifically shown and described can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention herein disclosed and more particularly defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal movement to and fro, a pattern wheel, a connecting member between said pattern wheel and said guide bar, means extending centrally through said connecting member for effecting tensioning of said connecting member against said pattern wheel, and spring means cooperating with said tensioning means for movement of said guide bar by said pattern wheel in one direction against the force of said spring means and movement of said guide bar by the force of said spring means through said tensioning means in the other direction.

2. In a warp knitting machine th combination as set forth in claim 1 including means for regulating the force of said spring in accordance to the variable positions of said guide bar during its movement by either said pattern wheel or said spring means.

3. In a warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal movement to and fro, a pattern wheel, a hollow connecting member between said pattern wheel and said guide bar, spring tensioning means extending through said hollow connecting member to said guide bar for efiecting tensioning of said connecting member against said pattern wheel for movement of said guide bar by said pattern wheel in one direction against the force of said tensioning means, and movement of said guide bar by the force of said tensioning means in the other direction.

4. In a warp knitting machine the combination as set forth in claim 3 including means for regulating said tension means in accordance to the variable positions of said guide bar during its movement by either said pattern wheel or said spring tension means.

5. In a warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal movement to and fro, a hollow push rod for operation of said guide bar, a pattern wheel adapted to move said push rod in one direction, and spring operated means connected to said guide bar and extending axially through said push rod for movement of said guid bar in the opposite direction.

6. In a warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal movement to and fro, a hollow push rod for operation of said guide bar, a pattern wheel for movement of said push rod in one direction, spring means for movement of said push rod in the other direction, and means connecting said spring to said guide bar through the hollow portion of said push rod to transmit its force to said guide bar to yieldingly hold said push rod for movement by said pattern wheel.

7. In a Warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal movement to and fro, a hollow push rod for operation of said guide bar, a knuckle joint universally movable at each end of said hollow push bar, a pattern wheel adapted to move said push rod through one of said knuckle joints in one direction, and spring operated means extending axially through said push bar to the other of said knuckle joints for movement of said guide bar in the other direction.

8. In a warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal movement to and fro, a pattern wheel, a movement transmitting member operated by said pattern wheel, a hollow push rod connecting said movement transmitting member with said warp guide bar, spring means, a spring connecting lever, a connecting pin movable on said spring connecting lever for variably connecting said spring means to said spring connecting lever, lever means operated by said movement transmitting member for movement of said connecting pin on said spring connecting lever, and flexible means connecting said spring connecting lever to said guide bar through said hollow push bar.

9. In a warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal movement to and fro, a pattern wheel, a movement transmitting member operated by said pat tern wheel, a hollow push rod connecting said movement transmitting member with said guide bar, spring means, a spring connecting lever, a connecting pin movable on said spring connecting lever, a bell crank jointly operated by said pattern wheel with said movement transmitting member, a connecting member jointly connecting said bell crank and said spring means to said connecting pin, and means connecting said spring connecting lever through said hollow push bar to said guide bar.

10. In a warp knitting machine the combination of a warp guide bar mounted for longitudinal 7 movement to and fro, a pattern wheel, a'rocking lever operated by said pattern wheel, a hollow push rod connecting said rocking lever with said guide bar, a spring connecting lever, flexible means connecting said spring connecting lever axially through said hollow push rod with said guide bar, a bell crank operated by said rocking lever, a connecting pin movably mounted on said spring connecting lever, spring means, a connecting link connecting said spring means with said connecting pin for movement of said'spring connecting lever, and a connecting link connecting said bell crank with said connecting pin for movement of said connecting pin on said spring "connecting lever.

EUGENE BELLINI.

8 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,484,381 Serra Feb. 19, 1924 2,229,928 Morrison Jan.'28, 1941 2,333,697 Boaler et a1 Nov. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,864 Great Britain of 1890 602,915 Great Britain June 4, 1948 458,199 Germany Mar. 31, 1928 604,523 France -1 Jan. '29, 1926 

